Paradise
by Feathery-Dreamer
Summary: Complete. This story is about Cloud's life and his unchanging love; both in his childhood and adulthood. Paring: Cloud/Tifa. Chap 1 revised...
1. Chapter 1

Paradise

He had always been attracted by her beauty. Her chocolate brown orbs, raven hair, her porcelain face, her fragile complexion, her cherry lips, everything was perfect to his blue eyes. The first time he had laid his spheres on her, he felt a sensation he had never felt before. His five year old self didn't quite understand the feeling; whenever he separated from her, uneasiness instilled in him. The only way he found to "cure" his sickness, was to follow her, watch her and protect her. It wasn't like the time when he found an injured little dog, which he nursed back to health, no it was different. He needed to know she was safe; if she was ever in trouble, he had to be there, her life was very dear to him.

He always said everything to his mom; she was his only family seeing as his father had left them, but this he didn't tell. Maybe he had left him because he wasn't a good son, maybe that's why the townspeople hated him so…

"I don't have a father and I'm a bad influence… They must hate me because of that; my mommy is too nice to be hated by anyone so I'm the one who's doing everything wrong" so he thought.

He would never know why he was the black sheep of the village, but one thing he did know; he shouldn't cause trouble to anyone and he should smile to his family to prove he wasn't sad… Sure it was sad to be alone, not having a dad and not having anyone other than his beloved mom to love him, but he had to be strong; his mother's happiness depended on that, he thought.

Cloud had to do something to prove that fact, so he went outside and "played". Truth be told, he only sat near the well in his own corner watching other kids fooling around without a care in the world. Of course he tried to be friends with the cute girl he had seen and he really cared about making friends with other people other than her; he just wanted to fit in. However the innocent child had always thought of her friends as dumb, and considered them a bad influence on Tifa, "but maybe I'm the real idiot" he thought. Perhaps he only envied them, they who were accepted by her; were near her.

The lonely child knew he was different, but still hoped he would be able to be "normal". That was the only explanation he found to his solitude. Nevertheless, the blond had always tried being close to her, but he always was scared of being hated by her or even worse; that he would make her hated by everyone. Those two main fears were the reason of his distance, that and the fact that each time he would approach her and her friends they would either ignore him or run away. All of this made him settle with watching her from a distance, so as to protect her. He was too kind for his own good, but the shy child would never see it that way. The pale boy would always try his best not to bother anyone, in hopes of being loved, and he didn't want to be a burden to his mommy. That was what he always did until, his beloved's mom died. He was eight, and she was seven. She had started resembling her mother, and she looked as beautiful as ever. That day he had decided to stop looking through the windows of the girl's room seeing as he was too worried about her.

"Hey, Cloud's coming! You think he wants to come in?"

She had only heard him, but she was too devastated too even care about it. His first time in her room was not how he had wanted it to be but right now, it wasn't important. Her floor was covered of wooden tiles. A beige coloured carpet was placed near her bed and black piano decorated the space near the entrance to her room. It was also adorned by a wardrobe made of a dark brown wood, which had an antique look, and by a desk and mirror. The doll like girl was crying near her bed at the time, yet she still had hope of seeing her mother again. Seeing her like that hurt him more than he would lead on. He wanted to run over to her and reassure her that everything would be alright, that her mother was in a better place. He could feel his heart sink at each sobs she would emit. The kind youth wanted to do everything in his power to help her but he couldn't. He couldn't risk tarnishing her, so he watched. It was the only thing he did…

"I want…to see…mom…" she managed to choke up without stuttering.

As soon as she said that, she got up and ran out of her room. She was heading towards Mount Nibel, with her three close friends following close behind. After a while the broken toddler spoke again and said

"…I wonder if there's anything beyond the mountains?"

"Mount Nibel is scary. Many people have died here" replied one of her three friends

"No one crosses that mountain alive" continued another

"How 'bout those that died" asked the Tifa with a tinge of hope in her voice.

"Did mama pass through the mountains?" she continued

She started walking again in hopes of seeing her one last time. The young girl would do so until she had accomplished her purpose. "Was that such a selfish wish" she thought

"I'm going!" she said brimming with determination

Two of them followed, brave enough to help their friend when she was in need. The other, hesitated while looking at his friends who went deeper in the dangerous area. His better judgment got the better of him and decided to turn back and head home: where it was safe.

Cloud had past right by him. He knew how dangerous it was, but his concern for the raven haired girl was greater than his conscience. Some might say it was stupid, but for him, it was of dire importance.

After a while of running, he had finally caught up with them. They were near the bridge, At least two out of three were: the blue dressed girl continued, not looking behind her where the duo had stopped. Finally her comrades turned back on their tracks…and now none but Cloud and Tifa were left.

Even thought the bridge wasn't well maintained, even if it wasn't secure, she still decided to move on; she decided to walk until she could no longer. She didn't know she wasn't alone though, she didn't know her "guardian" was following her. Even if she knew it, that wouldn't have prevented her from missing her step. The spikey headed youth had tried to save her, but he was too late. Instead, he had fallen with her. He had had minor injuries; scarred knees, but the long haired seven years old…was not as lucky. Thankfully Tifa's father and his friend had seen them fall. Who knows how worst it could have been had they not been there in time…

"Cloud! Why'd you bring Tifa to a place like this!" said the girl's father, obviously angered by this event.

"What the hell's the matter with you?" replied his friend, astonished by what he thought was the stupidity of Cloud's doing.

They had condemned the innocent child to what he wanted to prevent, but that wasn't what made him angry. His own weakness, he himself, was the subject of his anger. "If only I could've saved her" he would think over and over during the seven day of coma Tifa had. Her injuries were so severe no one thought she would make it. Ever since then he'd feared that his angel hated him, blamed him, for the accident. No matter what his mother said, he would never be convinced that he wasn't to blame. He wanted to save her, not hurt her, why couldn't he do such a simple thing? The shy little boy had turned into an aggressive young man. He would go out of control; he'd get into fights, not even caring who was the one he would fight… That was his own way of dealing with his pain. During that rough time, he had heard of the great Sephiroth. He thought that if he would resemble him, if he were strong like him everyone might accept him, maybe even notice who he was, everyone including his childhood sweetheart. He was thirteen when he had thought of this.

Soon after that, he had decided to aim for first class in SOLDIER. The faithful day of his departure slowly approached, and at the eve of that important event, he had summoned all his courage to ask his loved one to meet him at the town's well. He hadn't been nervous in a long time, not since the first time he'd seen her.

The familiar churning sensation in his stomach, as well as the uneasy feeling in his chest came back, followed by a tingly sensation throughout his body. He wasn't sure if it was due to the cold of the night that he started being embraced by or if it was because he'd fear that she wouldn't show up, after all why would she? His insecurity rose with the same rhythm as the clock's passing seconds. A few seconds later, who seemed like hours to the young man, he saw the woman of his dreams walking gracefully towards him. Her sky blue dress gently cupped her young body and gave her a gentle and angelic feeling. Tifa was growing to be a fine woman, and the effect of her charisma had even more impact to the ponytailed youth. That said determined young man never knew, however, the turmoil he caused to the cheery young woman. She would think he was really cute, with those big blue eyes that had eyes only for her in this twilight. The night sky was the only light they needed, and it was enough. Tiny little fires lit the sky; it looked like rays of hope on a dark sea of insecurity. It was a gorgeous night that was for sure. After short greeting, they sat around the edges of the towns well.

"You said you wanted talk to me about something?" she inquired

"Come this spring…I'm leaving this town for Midgar" he said while moving his legs up and down, in hopes of calming his nerves down

"….All boys are leaving our town" the long haired girl stated, a hint of sadness lingering in her voice

"But I'm different for all of them. I'm not just going to find a job" replied the blond, a bit annoyed at being compared to others.

"I want to join SOLDIER" he continued, standing up and approaching the reason of his departure.

"I'm going to be the best there is, just like Sephiroth" determination could be heard clearly in is statement, as well as admiration toward his hero.

"Sephiroth…The Great Sephiroth" she said almost in a daze.

"Isn't it hard to join SOLDIER" she asked, a bit concerned for his safety.

"…I probably won't be able to come back to this town for a while." whispered the ambitious young man, avoiding eye contact, while thinking he wouldn't be able to see his ray of sunlight anymore.

Cloud lost himself in his thoughts thinking of how hard it would be without knowing she was doing well, and was healthy. She had become to him what he thought was an unhealthy obsession.

"…hun?" She had disappeared from his sight.

"Will you be in the newspaper if you do well?" the faired skinned asked standing on top of the well, while watching cloud from above.

The bright lit skied made her long raven hair shine like never before

"I'll try." He said unsure himself of hi success.

The atmosphere was bittersweet. He was happy to know she cared enough to wish for his success but he wasn't confident enough. He would like to see her again; standing tall and proudly from his accomplishment.

"Hey, why don't we make a promise?" She said rendering the atmosphere a bit more breathable. It was spontaneous, and a bit weird, but she couldn't resist asking that to the cute young man.

"Umm, if you get really famous and I'm ever in a bind…… You come save me, all right?" she continued

"What?"

Cloud had always wanted to be of help to her, but the one time she had really needed his help, he hadn't been able to give her any. This promise would created a lot of pressure on him, but whether he did promise or not, he'd do this without a second thought. "However what did she expected from him?" He thought. He felt a lot of conflicted emotion; he was still processing the new important information.

"Whenever I'm in trouble, my hero will come and rescue me. I want to at least experience that once."

She was embarrassed by her own sudden request. She had come that far thought, so she wasn't backing up now.

"What?" He sounded and looked more confused than the first time she has said her request.

"Come on~! Promise me~!" The girl asked insisting more on the promise than she wanted to.

"All right…… I promise. "replied the young man finally yielding to her selfish request.

The light of the stars reflected on both their eyes, giving the orbs a beautiful effect, which made their deep colours have different shadings. They stared at each other for as long as they could, knowing it would be the last time they would see each other.


	2. Chapter 2

Many years had passed since that day. She had been the reason he decided to work for Shinra, which in turns made him know his friend Zack…One thing led to another. He started as an infantryman and ended up a test subject. He had been the cause of many sad events; death of his friends and even the summoning of meteor. Now that he thinks about it, everything got complicate for the simple wish of being noticed. He had succeeded alright, but it wasn't important now. He was content of his life style.

"A lot of things changed" he whispered to himself

His feelings did not however. His heart laid at the same place it had so many years ago. Time moved for his personality, physique and life, but his gaze and loyalty remained stand still. The shy young boy was now fine young man who had saved the planet. He looked cold and distanced like he did as a child but he was kind nonetheless. He now had his own delivery service mixed with a bar, 7th heaven, who was Tifa's. He lived with orphans, Marlene, Denzel and of course Tifa. Those two children where similar to what would be siblings and child at the same time. The same could be said of their thoughts to their hero; both a brother and a parent. He could now say he was fulfilling his role better than he had a few months prior. After being relieved of his insecurities by his dear departed friends, he could be "happy"; he felt he had the right to now. He deserved to be thought many of the residents there, but he still didn't proceed in attaining the one thing that would complete him. Marlene and Denzel had been trying to say it subtly to the stubborn man; they had even laid "traps" for him to create openings. Lately however the traps had begun to be more explicit than they were. Cloud didn't mind it that much thought falling on top of Tifa because of a toy purposely lying around or even getting stuck in a room with the barmaid, it wasn't displeasing. What he feared about their recent activities was the thought of them succeeding. "If they did manage to make him say the sweet truth, wouldn't that mean risking ruining these days peaceful day? "He thought. He was content of just being friends with her. Sure it was hard not being able to hold her freely and caressing her has he'd always wished, but he feared being alone again. Those thoughts, however, weren't unanimous for everyone. The braided young girl and the messy headed boy were disappointed, seeing as they hadn't done much improvement to their full proof strategy. The pranksters decided it was time to go to plan B.

"Cloud!!" cried Barret's daughter

Right on cue the mercenary made his appearance looking relieved that nothing was wrong. He was worried that something might have happened to the children, hence his rapid appearance.

"Why don't you tell Tifa you love her?" She said, heading straight to the matter

"Come on!!" joined in his admirer

He only left with a sight, not paying attention to the kids' request. Even if he did tell her, that would mean tarnishing her, and a guardian isn't suppose to fall in love with the maiden. He was scared of taking the risk and he didn't deny it.

"Listen to us this one time!" the 6 and 10 years old yelled in union. They sounded more enthusiastic, then pleading to his hears.

He wouldn't mind being something more but he still feared her as much as he loved her. One thing's for sure; the cheery children had done something or said something to the said subject about him. It had to be something of the sort; they were insisting more than they did usually. "Probably staged something" he thought, but he didn't plan on coming clean soon. He was now drained completely because of them. Yet he continued to think has usual, he walked in a daze, until he arrived near the bar. He could use a drink he thought while approaching closer to the liquids that might cool his nerves down. Fortunately or unfortunately, his cherry lipped fighter was tending the pub.

"Teef, give me something hard" he said the energy seeping out of him with each syllables he uttered.

That definitely was not what he needed right now. He was preoccupied enough of what the mischievous brunet and black haired girl had planned. "I walked right into their traps haven't I?" he thought.

"Sure, coming right up!" She said so sweetly as always, while staring at him with her eyes brimming with a new light. That light was called expectation.

He stared at her thinking of what she could expect other than a confession. "That couldn't be it!" he mentally correct himself. That was his wish not hers "but what else could it be…?" he continued. He had lost himself again in his thoughts. His drink had been served for a while now, the ice was now melting and he had been staring at her all this time. She had forgotten to but the other ingredients in his drink. It wasn't done on purpose, his intense gaze only made her forget the other two liquids.

"Is something wrong?" asked the long haired woman.

"I was just thinking about the past and you" he replied nonchalantly while drinking his cocktail.

It wasn't exactly a lie, when he thought Tifa, he thought about his feelings; before and now. He stopped abruptly drinking his gin, it was pure gin why didn't he have a cocktail, but that wasn't what he stopped. "That came out wrong didn't it" The children's attempts and words had finally took a toll on him, it was only a matter of time. His expression changed to shocked to exasperate in a blink of a moment. He had already summoned all of his courage once that day under the starry sky, why couldn't know, he thought. It wasn't as important as it was now but it still took him a lot of effort to do it. He was already half way there, so might as well not "dally" any longer. He sighed, change was inevitable. He continued arguing in his head for a while; he had now shifted his gaze on his drink still embarrassed. He could feel their questioning gaze and anticipation, he really felt pressured. After another moment, his emotions had beaten his rational side, and he locked his blue his back at the chocolate brown ones who looked surprised at his determinate look. It wasn't the most romantic setting he could have, lets' face it he was in a bar and he had an audience, but it's the thought that counts he persuaded himself.

He felt extremely nervous, maybe that wasn't even enough to describe his feeling. His pulse was faster than ever and his whole body felt like it would shake if not for his will power. He was even ready to bet he had already a hint of red hue in his face.

"…I…"

The sooner the better, he had to finish it, even if it was uncomfortable to have the undying attention of everyone on him.

"Tifa" He had regained control of his courage "I love you"

It was straight to the point it was plain and simple. Those three words were itching to come out since he was a child, and he has only found the courage to say it now. He could enumerate the various reasons but nothings in this world could compare to his emotions. He had only said the truth; nothing romantic there. There was a pregnant silence, awkwardness, confusion and embarrassment walked hand in hand, filling the air. Everything was on stand still. His mako blue eyes melted with her brown chocolate orbs, they wouldn't leave her sight no matter what. She didn't believe what she heard, she couldn't even reply. The kids had told her he would say something of the sort but she doubted them, they had told her that several times already, and she got tired of waiting… In all her twenty-three years of her life, she had never felt so happy and confused at the same time. She had always wished for this to happened, unattainable dream, that's how she had classified it. Of all the scenarios she had created, none of them looked like that; they were more romantic. She felt the anxiety of everyone in the room, mostly Cloud's… They were all waiting for her to reply, but she wasn't sure what to say. She wanted to say how long she had waited for him to say it to her, but she didn't know if he'd really mean it. The kids might have told him about her guilty wish. She had always eyes for him but did he? She knew how devastated he had felt at the death of the flower girl, she could only watch him crumble in despair of his lost. Everyone felt heart-wreathing about her death, but none rivalled his. She thought maybe she was his second choice. Her eyes started to burn. "No, not now" she thought, "Not in front of them" she continued. She closed her eyes, and counted to ten, it always helped her to regain control of her emotion on that sensible cord.

"Do you really mean it?" She asked her eyes still shut

"Yeah…"

"Didn't you love Aertih?" the fighter asked

"In a way…I guess I did" he replied hesitantly

So she was the second best, she thought, while tears threatened to pour out. She turned his back to him. He screwed up, he thought. He'd been in love with her for so long, yet she thought otherwise, he could feel it. Tension filled the air again, only it was heavier than before. Both of the adults looked hurt. The children were starting to think it was a bad idea to have played match making, and left their post to let them have some privacy, hoping it would turn out alright.

The childhood friends had been together for a long time. Cloud knew Tifa the best, as she knew him the most. They understood each other well, and had developed an unbreakable bond. The only thing they could not connect, or would because of their insecurities, was their love. He had to clear things up; he would let their relationship end because of different point of views. She poured herself a drink; apricot brandy and orange jus. She was missing something, but she didn't care, she gulped it hoping to numb the pain. She would do that usually, but she didn't know what to do right now. She was about to give herself another round, but she was stopped when she felt a tight embrace. The hurt barmaid, turn her head slowly to the man that had stopped her. They were close to one another, so close she could feel the gin intoxicated breath on her neck. She heard the man whisper into her hears: "Words cannot describe what I feel and you've always said action could speak louder than words, however this is something I need to say" He hesitated and chose his words correctly, before continuing.

"You have always helped me and been there whenever I needed you, and I couldn't even save you once… I had told myself I would protect you since the first time I saw you…but I let you down. I'm no hero, no knight in shining armour, but I still love you. I loved Aerith, well the part of me where Zack rested did anyways, but you are my light and reason to live…" He said trying to stop his voice from sounding to shaky.

He was feelings so many emotions, it was only normal for him to sound like that. The man barely managed to contain them all. This little truth is the one that the woman needed to hear. Proof was all she needed; no she needed to be reassured by the one who stole her heart away on that lighted dark sky. She felt bad for even doubting him, but uncertainty can do many things on a person. She looked at him with apologetic eyes and was reassured by one of his rare sweet smiles. She loved it when he did; she always thought he looked cuter with that face. He'd only tear down his stoic façade in front of her… His hints were so clear, why didn't she realize it before? She though.

"I love you too" She said while turning towards him to bury her face in his shirt, inhaling his intoxicating scent.

He gently cupped her face and lifted her visage, and leaned until he found her lips… Breaths and flavour mixed together; dry gin, apricot brandy and orange juice. Every single sweet passing time created a new taste: Paradise

The end

A/N: So did you like it? Hope you did! Anyways, don't forget to review!


End file.
